You Live and You Learn
by My one true love
Summary: Puck was not prepared for the sight he found in his room on the night of his party, but find her he did. But what the hell was he supposed to do for her? *Warning: mature storyline*
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** So I know that this storyline has been done before, but I'm hoping that mine is a little bit different. I chose to tell this from Puck's POV because we often get the victim's POV, but not those around her. And in case you didn't figure it out this does deal with rape (although the actual event is NOT included in the story) so it this will bother you please don't read. I look forward to hearing what each of you thinks._

* * *

What the hell had he been thinking having a party? He couldn't even enjoy himself and get drunk because he was too busy trying to make sure that these fuckers, who were supposed to have just been his friends but no they had to tell everyone, didn't fuck up his house. Puck shook his head. This was so not how he'd wanted to spend his Saturday night.

Everyone was downstairs getting wasted and here he was sober as all hell trying to make sure no one was fucking anything up in any of the rooms. He pushed open the door to his sister's room to find a couple of kids that he didn't know making out on her bed. "Get the fuck out." He glared at them as they jerked apart. What the fuck was wrong with them? This room obviously belonged to a little girl and here they were making out and who knows what would've happened if he hadn't come up? "Stay the fuck downstairs or you can leave."

He shook his head again as hurried past him and down the stairs. His head snapped to the side when he heard a noise coming from his room. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me," he muttered to himself as he stalked over to his room.

He threw the door open, but the awaiting sight was not what he was expecting. He'd been expecting to see another couple fooling around, but he was shocked by what he found. On the floor, a brunette was curled up in the corner of his room, covered only in a sheet from his bed. "What the fuck?"

At the sound of his voice, the girl's head shot up.

"Fuck, Berry. What the hell?" Puck shot into the room, kneeling before her.

Rachel pulled away from him, curling herself into the wall as tears ran unchecked down her face. "Stay away from me."

Puck leaned back on his heels, his thoughts going in a thousand different directions. What the fuck was going on? Why the hell was Rachel on his floor naked? He reached out his hand to push the hair out of her face, but she all of the sudden went crazy.

She lashed out, her hand scraping down his cheek and throwing him off balance as she screamed. He fell onto his butt, staring at her in shock. "Berry, what the fuck is wrong with you?" He looked over at her again, taking in the shocked eyes and her naked body. No, it couldn't be. He glanced down and saw the blood that dotted the sheet. He felt the fury build within him as he realized what he was seeing before him. "Fuck, Berry. Who the hell did this to you?"

Rachel continued to stare at him, her eyes crazy as she continued to stare at him – or maybe it wasn't at him, but more like through him - as the tears continued to fall down her face. It was like she wasn't really seeing him, but if she wasn't seeing him then what the fuck WAS she seeing?

What the hell was he supposed to do? If what he feared was true, he didn't know what he should be doing. He wasn't cut out for this shit. He wasn't some touchy feely pussy who knew what the fuck to do when a girl sat on his floor after possibly being raped. Rape. Just the word sent a fresh bout of fury coursing through him. If it turned out that was what happened, and he was willing to bet anything that it was, then he was going to kill whoever had done this to her.

"Berry, come on. Snap out of it, please. I need to know the hell happened." Puck didn't want to touch her, for fear of what she would do if he tried to do that again. He waved his hand in front of her face, watching as her eyes slowly began to focus.

"Puck?"

"Oh thank God. What happened to you?"

Rachel looked down at herself and he could see the thoughts run across her face as they ran through her mind. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh God."

"Don't go getting all hysterical on me again, Berry. I need to know what the fuck happened to you." He paused and when she didn't respond he shook his head. When he spoke again his voice was barely a whisper. "Did someone rape you?"

Rachel's eyes shot up to meet his, tears falling freely again. Her head moved only fractionally, but it was enough to make him shoot up off the floor and begin pacing in front of her. "Who did this to you Berry? I will fucking kill them." When she still remained quiet, he sank to the floor in front of her, his hands clenched to his side; he tried to control his voice as he spoke, "Tell me who did this to you."

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, fear in her eyes. Fuck, now _he_ was scaring her. He didn't know much about rape victims (okay, he didn't know anything), but he was pretty damn sure that he shouldn't be scaring her. He had to calm the fuck down, but how the hell was he supposed to do that while she sat there in front of him shaking?

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm scaring you, but I don't know what to do." He heard his voice quiver with the helplessness that he was feeling. "The only thing that I know to do is find out who the fuck did this to you so that I can beat the living shit out of them."

"No." Her voice was so quiet that he almost didn't hear her.

"What?"

"No. I won't tell you who it was so that you can go beat him. I won't." Rachel shook her head and her hand let go of the sheet that she'd held clamped against her chest so it pooled at her waist.

"Fuck, Berry." Puck averted his eyes, but the sight of her bare breasts was now burned into his mind.

Rachel quickly pulled the sheet up to cover herself again. If it was even possible, she began to shake even harder.

Well, shit, if she wasn't going to tell him who had done this to her then maybe he could figure it out on his own. Who all had he seen her with that night? Shit, why hadn't he been paying more attention?

He recalled her coming in with Finn; he'd given her a ride to the party. He'd seen them together throughout the night, but nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. They'd talked and although she'd tried to flirt, Finn's dumb ass had been oblivious. He thought harder and recalled seeing Finn downstairs with Santana all over him just moments before he'd headed upstairs. Plus, there was no way that Finn would do this to Rachel, and she'd have been more than willing to give it up to him.

He'd seen her with Mike in the living room, dancing. But that's what they always did – Mike and Rachel, that is. If there was music, they were dancing. And it's not even like they were dancing close together or anything. There was no way Mike would've done it either. Mike was his boy.

After dancing, he saw her with Jesse, who was home for the weekend from UCLA, in the kitchen. They were chatting and there may have been a bit of touching and flirting. He remembered thinking that he found it odd, only because before Jesse had left for school, they hadn't been speaking at all, but it was Berry that he was talking about and there was no way anyone could really stay mad at her. Which is exactly what Jesse had explained to him when he'd asked him about it. And they'd both commented on how hot she was looking that night. But that was the last time he'd seen them together; but again, Jesse had no reason to do it either since Rachel would totally give it up to him, Puck was sure of it.

Had he seen her after that? Yes, he had. She'd been chatting with Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie when Matt had pulled her away to dance. They'd been dancing awfully close, bodies moving in time to the bump and grind music that blared through the house. Not that he'd thought anything of it at the time, but could it have been Matt? He knew that Matt thought she was hot, but he'd never acted on it because of who she was – especially because of who she was to his friends. There was no way that his friend Matt would do this either.

Shit, that left someone he didn't know and there were so many people here that he didn't know. Fuck. "Damn it, I'll be back." Puck shot out of the room with only one thought: to find Quinn. She could help. She would know what to do.

He barreled down the stairs, shoving people out of his way as he looked through the crowd to find her. His eyes zeroed in on her where she sat talking to Jesse in the doorway to the kitchen. "Quinn!" he tried to yell to get her attention, but the noise was too much and his call was buried in it. "Damn." He shoved his way through the crowd of people who stood between the stairs and where she stood.

When he reached her, she turned to him, a smile on her face. "Hey, babe." The smile died as she took in his face, the scratch on his cheek and the fear in his eyes. "What's wrong, Puck?"

He glanced at Jesse before looking back at Quinn. "Something's wrong with Rachel. I need your help."

Quinn looked up at him quizzically, not understanding why _she_ would need to help him with Rachel. They still didn't get along and what did she really care if something was wrong with Rachel?

"Damn it, Quinn. I need your help now." He grabbed her hand, dragging her through the crowd towards the stairs. Once they were upstairs he finally glanced back and noticed that Jesse had trailed behind him.

Jesse just shrugged. "I don't want anything to happen to Rachel, I'll help any way that I can."

Puck just shook his head. "Fine, but you both need to be prepared that it's not pretty." He shoved open the door to his room and walked in. He heard Quinn's quiet gasp as she saw Rachel on the floor.

Rachel's head snapped up again, her eyes widening when she saw them. "Get out! Leave me alone! I don't want you here! Get out! Out!" Rachel turned her fearful eyes to Puck. "Get them out! Oh my God." Sobs wracked her body and she began to hyperventilate.

Puck's eyes widened. He'd only meant to help her and once again it seemed that he'd made it worse. What was he supposed to do now?

"Out!" Rachel screeched again as the tears ran down her cheeks unchecked, clinging to the sheet and burying her face into her hands.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N:_**_ Hello readers! I would like to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorited or alerted this story. I always appreciate knowing that something I write is appreciated. Lol. Anyways onto the story...Rating is for mature themes and Puck's mouth, well and thoughts, which is awful. Haha. Enjoy!_

* * *

Puck watched in horror as Rachel continued to shriek at the top of her lungs, dumbfounded. Finally he pulled it together and turned to the other two in the room. "Get out."

"But—"

"No buts. Just get the fuck out." Puck herded Jesse and Quinn out of the room, shutting the door behind them before he turned back to the brunette on his floor who had begun to whimper quietly. "Rachel…"

When she didn't respond to him, he slowly made his way across the room until he was kneeling in front of her. Why the fuck did this have to happen at his party? He shook his head. It didn't matter why it had happened at his party. What mattered was making sure that Rachel was okay. He slowly reached an arm out towards her, closing his eyes when she flinched from him.

"Rachel…we have to get you to the hospital." Puck shrugged. He didn't know why they had to go to the hospital, but that was always what people did on TV so it made sense. "But I need you to get dressed. Can you do that?"

Finally she looked up at him, but her face held no comprehension. It was like she was there, but not. Fuck. He wasn't even making sense to himself. He stood quickly and went to his closet where he pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. There was no way that he was going to look for her clothes. He knew that he had to get her the hell out of there and now.

He knelt before her again, holding the clothes out to her. "Babe, you need to get dressed. Can you do it?"

Rachel looked from his face to the clothes in his hand to his face again. She still didn't seem to understand what he was trying to get her to do.

"Fuck," he hissed under his breath. He tossed the pants onto the floor, shaking out the shirt. Moving slowly, he reached over and began slipping it over her head. This time she didn't flinch away from him, but she did nothing to help him.

A few minutes later he had her dressed and then he had to figure out how he was going to get her to the hospital. He hadn't been drinking (much) since he'd been too worried about the idiots he'd invited over screwing up his house so he knew he could drive. But in order to get to his truck he was going to have to bring her through the party and he wasn't sure that she could make it through the crowd without freaking out.

He watched her shaking, her arms wrapped around her legs as she hugged herself and felt like his heart was breaking. Sure Rachel could be annoying, but she didn't deserve this – no one did. He scooped her up into his arms, standing there as she stiffened. He wasn't going to move until she was at least slightly comfortable in his arms.

"Berry – I mean Rachel, I'm going to have to bring you through the party to get to my truck. I need you to not freak out." He almost sighed out of relief when he felt her relax. "It's gonna be okay, babe. I'll take care of you. I'll protect you." Now he would because he hadn't been able to when the fucker, whoever he was, had raped her. And if he got his hands on the guy, he was going to kill him. He was going to beat the living shit out of him and laugh while he did it.

Rachel buried her face in his chest, looking so unlike the Rachel that he knew. Damn it all to hell. He really needed to get her out of there. With a curse, he shoved out of the room.

* * *

"Noah Puckerman?"

Puck shot out of his seat, hurrying over to the nurse. "Is she okay?"

The nurse gave him a small, sad smile. "She's asking for you. Come on back."

Puck fought back the growl that he felt building up. He knew that it wasn't the woman's fault, but he wanted to know what the hell was going on with Rachel. When they had arrived at the hospital, Rachel had been swept behind the doors and he'd been forced to wait in the waiting room where he'd spent most of his time pacing the length of it. Well, at least he was going to get to see her.

He followed the nurse until she stopped in front of a door, gesturing for him to go in. He shoved open the door, not knowing what to expect. What he found scared him.

Rachel lay on the examining table on her side, curled up into a ball. She looked so small, so scared. It made him want to beat the living shit out of someone.

"Rachel?"

She didn't turn, didn't even move. She just continued to lay there, arms wrapped around herself. Fuck. What the hell was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to be able to help her? He inched forward, laying a hand on her arm. He frowned when she flinched away from his touch.

"Rach?" He reached out again and when his hand touched her arm again, she didn't shy away, but instead turned towards him. The look in her eyes was so different from what he was used to seeing. There was no life in them; she stared up at him, and it was like there was no one home.

Son of a bitch. He was for real going to have to kill someone. He shook his head, scooping her up into his arms before sitting down on the table. He held her close and let out a sigh of relief when she snuggled in closer to him.

A sudden knock on the door caused Puck to jump and Rachel to tense in his arms. Her hands tightened their hold on his arms and her back was straight as a board when Puck looked up to see who was entering the room. Great, pigs. He really hated cops.

* * *

"Miss Berry, we understand that you've been through a rough time tonight, but we need to know what happened. We can't do anything if you continue to refuse to give us any information." The cop's voice was gentle, but Puck still wanted to reach across the table and belt him. How dare he talk to her like that?

Rachel just shook her head as she pulled her feet into the chair, wrapping her arms around her legs. They were in a room at the hospital and the two cops were trying to get information about her rape, but she hadn't spoken since they'd entered the room. Puck realized that he hadn't heard her utter a word since they'd arrived at the hospital. Damn. She really was in bad shape.

"Miss Berry, we want to catch the guy who did this to you, but if you don't talk to us, then we have nothing to go by." The other cop, this one a woman, didn't piss Puck off nearly as bad. She spoke quietly and calmly but not condescending like the other guy. She seemed to truly want to help.

Rachel just once again shook her head, refusing to look any of them in the eye. Puck shook his head as he reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Rach, they're just trying to help. You've got to tell them what happened."

She slowly looked up, meeting his eyes, and he saw the fear in them. But what was she afraid of? Of the guy that had hurt her? Or of something else? He just didn't know.

"No."

"What?" Both the cops spoke at the same time.

"No, what babe?" Puck leaned closer, but she wouldn't speak again. She just shook her head over and over.

"Look, she obviously can't tell you guys anything now. Can't you do this later?" Puck couldn't stand the haunted look in Rachel's eyes and he knew that he needed to get her home. "You already have my statement so that's something?"

The male cop looked like he was going to speak, but the female held up a hand to stop him. "That's fine. We have your contact info, Miss Berry. We'll give you a call in a few days, or if you want to contact us sooner please give me a call." She pulled something from her pocket. "My card. Please call me." She slid one across the table to Puck. "Just in case you need to get a hold of me as well."

Puck picked up both cards, sliding them into his pocket before standing and lifting Rachel into his arms. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I should've known that you weren't ready to talk," he whispered to her as they headed down the hallway and towards the exit. "I just don't know how to deal with this shit. It's intense, and you know I'm a real simple kind of guy."

Rachel just looked up at him, her face blank and her eyes haunted. Her eyes were something that he didn't think he'd ever be able to forget – or how quiet she had been since the "incident," as he was liking to call it because the word rape just made him see red and he needed to stay calm. Calm was the only option for him because he was about to bring Rachel home and have to explain to her fathers what had happened at his home. Fuck, they were going to hate him even more than they already did. He was fucked and he'd be lucky if they didn't kill him.

* * *

"How the hell could you have let things get out of control so much that you didn't notice that someone was being raped in your house?" one of Rachel's dads hissed at Puck.

When he'd arrived at Rachel's house, they'd both been waiting up for her, probably worried because she wasn't answering her phone. When he'd carried her inside, one of them had taken her into his arms while they both glared, wanting to know what he had done to her. It had taken a few minutes to convince them that he hadn't done anything, but that she'd been raped by someone (not that he knew who, because if he did he would have killed them already) and he'd already taken her to the hospital.

The dad that held her made soothing noises, rushing upstairs while the other stayed downstairs to lay into him. Surprise, surprise. Everything was his fault.

Puck just shrugged, his head dropping so that he could stare at his feet. He'd been asking himself the same question all night and still hadn't come up with an answer that wasn't complete and utter crap. He blamed himself for Rachel's rape, no matter how weird it sounded. It had happened in his house, at his party. Who else was to blame?

"You're right, sir. There's no excuse. There's nothing that I can say except that I'm sorry." Puck shrugged. Who knew? He actually could apologize. He'd have been proud of himself had it not been for the situation. With a shake of his head he turned, leaving Rachel's dad to stare after him while he exited the house and climbed into his truck.

Fuck he needed a drink – and to hit something. He turned the truck on and turned towards home where he knew he could find a drink and a punching bag to take out some of this anger.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:** Sorry about the lack of update, I didn't realize it had been so long. Lol. But really it's because I spent two days (LONG days) going out to Alabama for work to help out the stores in some of the areas affected by the storms last week. I'm glad that you all are enjoying the story. Please remember that I LOVE feedback and the more I get the more I want to post. LOl. =) This chapter you'll find out some much desired information - just who did rape Rachel? And we get to see Puck lose his shit - you've gotta love protective Puck!_

* * *

Puck pulled up in front of the house, once again asking himself what the hell he was doing there. He'd done his part, so why the hell was he back there this afternoon? He couldn't think of a good reason, but since he was already there, he might as well go in and see how she was doing, right?

Just as he was opening the truck door, his phone rang. He flipped it open and seeing that it was Quinn ignored the call. She'd just want to hang out and wouldn't understand why he was at Rachel's. He just didn't feel like dealing with her drama. He was sure that plenty of that awaited him inside the house he sat in front of.

Taking a deep breath, telling himself to stop being such a pussy, he walked up and knocked on the door. It was swung open a few moments later by one of her fathers and he did not look happy to see him. What a fucking great way to start the visit.

"Umm…hello, Mr. Berry. I'd like to see Rachel," he said, trying to smile and quickly adding, "please – if that's okay with you?"

"She's refusing to come out of her room." He shook his head, the anger gone. "She's locked the door and won't let us in. I don't know what to do."

"If you don't mind, I can try – see if she'll let me in."

He shrugged, moving aside to allow Puck inside. "As much as I hate to do this, I'll do anything to get her out of that room."

Puck gave him a small smile, shrugging as he hurried past and up the stairs. Once outside of her door he had no idea what the hell he was going to do or say to get her to open it. If she didn't want to see her dads, why would she want to see him? But she had clung to him yesterday as if he were her saving grace, so maybe he did stand a chance?

He knocked lightly and waited for a response, something that he got very quickly and it almost made him turn tail and run.

"Leave me alone! I told you I didn't want to talk to anyone." Her voice was thick with tears, which was what scared Puck so badly. Women's tears were not something he liked to deal with.

"Berry, its Puck. Let me in." He laid his head against the door, fighting the urge to run.

A lifetime seemed to pass before he heard the door unlock. He swung it open to find that she had already climbed back into her bed. She looked like hell. Her hair was tangled, her makeup from last night had not been washed off and now ran down her face. And although he meant to keep this thought to himself, somehow he heard the words popping out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Damn, Berry. You took like shit."

Rachel just stared up at him with blank eyes. It was so unlike her to not respond to him when he insulted her – especially when he cussed. Once again he found himself thinking that he did not like this Rachel, this shell of the girl that he knew.

"This is _not_ okay." Puck shook his head, walking over to the bed and throwing back the covers. "We're going out. Get out of bed."

"No." Rachel pulled the covers back over her, burying her face in the pillow.

Puck laughed. "Oh yes we are." He peeled back the covers and picked her up out of the bed, setting her down by her closet. "Either you dress yourself or _I_ will dress you. It's up to you." He sent her a wicked smile, knowing that she would not chance that he wasn't joking.

"Fine," Rachel snarled at him as she threw open the closet door so hard that it bounced off the wall. "Get out so that I can get changed."

He headed for the door, calling over his shoulder. "If you're not down there in fifteen then I'm coming back up." He paused before opening the door. "And I know how to pick the lock on your door so don't try to just lock me out – it won't work." He winked at her once more before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"Remind me again why you brought me to the mall?"

Puck shrugged. "Because it's where girls go when they're upset?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips as she looked away. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Hey," he held up his hands as if in self defense, "it's where Santana and Quinn always make me bring them when they were upset – especially if it's at me."

"And I remind you so much of the two of them?" This time Rachel couldn't hide the smile that crossed her lips. "You're an idiot."

"That's fine by me. At least I'm an idiot that's making you smile."

Rachel gave him another small smile and all Puck could think was _Thank God_. He'd somehow managed to get Rachel's mind off of last night (which he honestly hadn't been sure that he would be able to do) and she seemed to actually be enjoying herself. He wasn't sure how long he could keep her this way, but he had high hopes that he could do so for awhile. He was badass after all and what woman wouldn't be happy in his company. He nodded to himself and found Rachel looking at him with a funny look on her face. "What?"

"Are you having a conversation with yourself or something?" She shrugged, looking down at her feet. "You were just nodding to yourself."

"Oh." What a dumbass. He could not believe he'd done that. "I was just thinking to myself that I was hungry and could eat." He nodded his head in the direction of the food court. "What about you?"

Rachel shrugged. "I guess I could eat."

He shot her a grin, sliding an arm over her shoulders and pulling her closer as they walked over to the food court. They decided on pizza and as they were heading for a table, Rachel stopped suddenly, her body tensing up.

What the fuck? Puck followed her line of sight to see Jesse leaning against a table flirting with the two girls who sat at it. Well hell, he hadn't meant to bring her someplace where she'd get jealous. This was supposed to be a happy day. "C'mon, Berry. Don't pay attention to that douche. If he's not interested in you, it's his loss."

Rachel glanced up at him and her eyes weren't filled with jealousy, but fear. Her hands trembled as tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. "No. I –" She couldn't finish her sentence she was shaking so hard. "I need to go."

Puck reached out, snagging her arm as she tried to run from the food court. He set the tray of food onto a nearby table and took her with both hands so that she was facing him. What the fuck was all of this about? She was pale as a ghost and now she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Rachel, what the hell is wrong with you?"

She just continued to shake her head, making her body shudder even more. He glanced over his shoulder to see that Jesse had noticed them and as he watched, a symphony of emotions crossed over the other boy's face – the most prominent being guilt.

And just like that it fell into place and he felt like an even bigger asshole. Puck looked down at Rachel, rage slowly filling him. "It was Jesse, wasn't it? He raped you?" He spit the last part out, his anger seeping into his voice.

She didn't acknowledge it with words, but the look in her eyes and the way that she began to shake harder (how the hell was that even possible? How could one person shake so hard?) answered the question even when she didn't.

Puck spun on his heel, shoving tables and chairs out of his way as he headed towards Jesse. The other boy looked up, seemingly surprised that Puck was approaching and even tried to call out a greeting, but Puck's fist hitting his face shut him up. His head snapped backwards and he slid off of the table, trying to keep his balance by grasping the edge of it. Another punch to the face had him flat on the floor and Puck was on top of him in a flash.

He had no thoughts except to beat the hell out of him. Men didn't hurt women physically whether it was by rape or actual physical abuse – it just wasn't done. He told himself that was the only reason that he was so mad - it had nothing to do with who the victim was (or at least that's what he told himself). At that point he couldn't see through the anger to realize just how much he'd lost control.

He didn't know how long it was before he heard a voice calling to him, "Noah! Noah, stop!" Rachel was screaming and from the hoarseness of her voice it sounded like it had been for a few minutes at least. He glanced up to see her standing as close as she could without having to worry about getting hit, tears streaming down her face.

Fuck. He wasn't supposed to upset her. Fuck. He looked down at Jesse to see his eyes were open but not quite alert. "You piece of shit. Don't you _ever_ come near her again or this will seem like nothing." The words were hissed and he thought about spitting in the other boy's face, but caught himself in time. No upsetting Rachel, well at least not any more than she already was.

He stood slowly, keeping an eye on Jesse as he backed up towards Rachel. He slid an arm around her shoulders and led her away, talking to her quietly. "It's okay. He won't bother you again." He didn't know what else he said, but it was all meant to comfort her as he tried to wrap his brain around what had happened.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N:_**_ Thanks again to everyone who is reading this, I love to know that people are out there enjoying my writing. Lol. This chapter is a little short, but I felt that it was very important so I went ahead and just left it by itself. I would love it if you could take the time to leave a comment with what you think, but either way the world keeps turning. Lol. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Fuck!" Puck's fist slammed into the side of his truck. He was so angry, and hitting Jesse had not relieved that anger. He didn't know what to do with the pent-up rage that was building higher and higher within him. How had he not seen what had been right in front of him the whole time? Now that he knew it had been Jesse, he saw all of the signs that had passed him by. He couldn't help but beat himself up. He should've known. It should never have taken him so long to put two and two together. He drew back his arm to punch the truck again, but a small noise caught his attention.

He looked over his shoulder to see Rachel had slid to the ground, hands covering her face so that it muffled that sobs that were attempting to escape her lips. Her body was shaking and she was curled into herself as if trying to make herself as small as she could. He felt all of the anger leave him as he stared down at the broken girl before him.

Slowly he slid down to his knees and placed a careful hand on her arm, flinching alongside her as she flinched away from him. Fuck. That was not what he'd meant to accomplish when he'd punched his truck. He'd just been looking for a way to channel his anger – not to scare Rachel so that she was afraid for him to touch her.

"Rach, I'm sorry." His voice was soft as he spoke and as much as he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her close, he knew that she would not have any of it. "I just – fuck. Look, I'm just sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Rachel looked up slowly, her face streaked with tears. She didn't speak, but she did scoot closer to him, so Puck sat down next to her, pulling her to his side. He kissed her head lightly, pushing away the voice within him that was calling him a pussy, a pussy for walking away from a fight and for kissing a girl (and not just any girl, but Rachel Berry) on the fucking head.

"I know that you haven't wanted to talk about it, but I have to ask. Why didn't you tell the cops or hell, me, about Jesse?"

Rachel shook her head, burying her head into his chest. "I just couldn't."

"He needs to pay for what he did to you. We need to call the cops now and tell them." Puck started to pull his cell phone out of his pocket, but her small hand stopped him. He looked down into her face, eyes questioning. "What?"

"Okay, I'll tell you, but not here."

Puck nodded, quickly standing and helping her up. They climbed into his truck and he drove around for a while before pulling into the parking lot of the park. He turned to Rachel, but she shook her head and climbed out of the truck. He quickly followed behind her and she led him to the swings.

The park was deserted as she lowered herself down onto the swing and gestured for him to have a seat on the one next to her. And why the fuck not? He'd done so many pussy-like things today, so what harm would it do to sit on a damn swing? He almost growled as he pushed the thought away. This wasn't about him, it was about her.

Puck sat next to her and waited for her to start speaking, and when she stayed quiet he let her. After a few minutes, he just couldn't stand the silence any longer. "So…"

Rachel shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and then turned to him. "I can't tell the police that it was Jesse because it wasn't really his fault." She held up her hand when Puck tried to speak. "Just let me get this out. If you interrupt, I don't think that I'll be able to finish." She waited for his nod before continuing. "You know that Jesse and I have had a flirtation whenever he comes back from school, so I know that it's no real surprise that we were together the night of your party."

Rachel's eyes were glazed and she spoke in a detached sort of way that almost creeped him out. It was like she was talking about someone else. "We were both drinking. He'd had a lot more than I had, but I didn't want to get drunk – just a little tipsy – so that I'd have the courage to maybe get something started between us again. I don't know. It's not like I drink ever, so the one drink I had definitely did its job. But while I just had one, he had at least six while I was with him. We danced, we kissed and when he asked me to go upstairs I agreed."

She had to pause at this point as tears filled her eyes and she had to fight them. "I knew what could happen if we went upstairs alone, but I didn't care. When we made it to your room, which I have no idea why we ended up in there when there were other rooms, Jesse asked me if I wanted to have sex with him. I said yes because I thought I did. He laid me down on the bed and started kissing me and it was great. Even when things went a little further I was fine, but when he started to take off my pants I got scared. I didn't want to do it anymore. I didn't."

Puck could feel the rage building up within him again, but he fought it down. She'd asked him to stay silent so that she could finish saying everything, but all he wanted to do was climb back up into his truck and hunt down Jesse St. Douchebag. If ever saw him again it was going to be free season on beating his ass. He didn't care who saw – he was going to beat him to within an inch of his life.

"I asked him to stop but – but I guess he didn't hear me, although I begged him to stop. I kept saying no and telling him to stop, but he didn't. Maybe it didn't matter what I said at that point? I'd said yes in the first place so what right did I have to change my mind in the middle of it?" She finally looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

Puck could read the guilt, the deep pain in her eyes and it made him even more positive that he had to kill Jesse. How could he have done this to such a bright person as Rachel? There was no sign of the Rachel he knew in the girl that sat before him. He found himself wondering how many times he'd had this very thought over the last twenty-four hours. It was one of his forbearing thoughts and he just couldn't figure out how to reconcile the change. He shook himself mentally. He had to stay focused on what she was saying to him.

"So you see, that's why I couldn't tell the police. It was my fault that this happened in the first place, so how can I tell them that it was Jesse when it will all just come back onto me? I was being a tease – "

She never got any further because Puck launched himself out of the swing and spun around the face her. "Fuck that." He fought to keep from yelling it at her, from putting his hands on her arms and shaking her. He could not believe what he was hearing. "You said no. When a woman says no, it means no – no matter when she said it." He turned away, pacing the sand in front of the swing set. "I've had girls that were raring to go until we were about to do the deed and they change their mind and you know what the fuck I did? I stopped. Because God damn it, no means fucking no."

He stopped in front of her and kneeled there, careful not to touch her. He was too unstable to risk touching her. He was trying his best to stay calm, to not scare the shit out of her again, but he needed her to understand. "It doesn't matter how worked up you get a guy, you have the right to change your mind. I don't give two shits if he's drunk, as soon as a guy hears the word no, he should stop because otherwise it's rape. Do you hear me, Rachel? If you said no at any point in time, he is _raping_ you and it is _not _your fault. It is not."

Rachel shook her head as tears coursed down her cheeks. "I'd like you to take me home now, Noah."

"Damn it, Berry! Are you listening to me? It's not your fucking fault!" He was yelling now and he was in her face and he didn't give a flying fuck if it scared her. She didn't seem to be getting it, and he needed her to get it.

Rachel turned away from him, refusing to look him in his face. "Noah, I said I wanna go home. Will you take me or do I need to walk?"

"God damn it!" Puck stood quickly, kicking at the sand. "Of course I'll take you fucking home, but this discussion is _not _over by any means."

Rachel didn't say a word to him as she breezed past him to his truck. He stood there for a minute just watching her. He didn't know how to get her to understand what he was telling her. It was like she just didn't want to hear it, like she wanted to blame herself. And how was he supposed to convince her of something she just didn't want to hear?


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **Hello all! Thanks for continuing to read my story. I hope that it is living up to your expectations and would love to hear what you think. But before we get to the story I want to add a few warnings. Quinn is kind of a bitch in this story, I don't hate her, it was just what the story dictated. Please don't hate. =) Second this particular chapter deals with more mature storyline. I don't want to ruin it by saying what it is so just a warning. =) Thanks again for reading!_

* * *

Puck could not believe how badly he had fucked up last night. He should never have pushed the topic of Jesse onto Rachel. But really how could he have known that she would just shut down? The entire drive back to her house she had stared out the window, arms crossed while refusing to speak to him. He'd tried to call her all night and again this morning to see if she wanted a ride to school, but she did not answer.

He'd even gotten to school early that morning (something that _never _happened) so that he could try and track her down, but he'd been waylaid by Quinn who apparently thought that he wasn't paying enough attention to her. Well, what the fuck did she think he was going to do when he found out that his friend had been raped at his own fucking house? Just tell her to suck it the fuck up and deal? Well, knowing the two girls' feelings about one another, he would not have been completely surprised if that's exactly what Quinn wanted.

"Look, Q, I'm sorry that you're feeling ignored, but I'm trying to help Rachel out. She's having a hard time." He looked over her head, trying to catch a glimpse of Rachel somewhere in the hallway. He'd been purposely lounging in the hallway where her locker was when Quinn had started her tirade (half of which he'd just tuned out).

"Rachel?" Quinn practically screeched. "Since when did you start calling her Rachel?"

Puck shook his head. "Well, that's her name, isn't it?"

Quinn threw her hands up in the air. "Of course it is, but I've _never_ heard you call her that before." She waved her hand as if to wave away the subject. "But she's not your girlfriend. I am. So you need to spend time with me."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Puck roared, drawing attention from people walking by. He snarled at them, calling out, "What the fuck is your problem? Is there something I can help you with?" But he quickly turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who he thought that at that moment had to be the most insensitive person on the face of the planet (which was quite abnormal for her, so what the fuck was her deal?). "Rachel was _raped_,Quinn. She needs friends and since some people think that they're too good to be her friends," he gave her a pointed look, "then I have to be there for her since I'm one of her actual friends."

Quinn's face was stricken, the guilt written across her face. "I'm sorry. I just –" She shook her head. "Forget it." She spun on her heel and stalked off.

Puck didn't know if she was pissed or about to cry, but he didn't think about it long because at that moment he saw Rachel walking down the hallway, books drawn to her chest and eyes on the floor. Even from where he stood, he could hear the whispers, the rumors of what had happened. He could also see the tremors that shook her petite body and knew that she was just barely keeping it together. Or not.

As he watched, she stopped in the middle of the hallway, looked around at the people who were blatantly staring at her and then threw her books onto the floor. She spun on her heel and took off down the hallway.

Well, fuck. Just what he needed to start his day off with – a crying girl. Or at least he assumed she was crying. That's what girls did when they got upset and shit, right? Fuck did he know? He was a fucking man and no matter how hard he tried he just could not understand women – not a single one of them (his mom and sister included).

He took off down the hallway, barely getting around the corner in time to see her disappear into a darkened room: the practice room. Why wasn't he surprised? Whenever Rachel was upset she always sang; it was just her thing. He slipped into the room behind her, eyes scanning as he tried to see her in the darkened room.

His eyes finally found her huddled in the corner of the room, arms around knees that were drawn to her chest. Her face was buried into her legs and he could see her body shaking though she made no noise. He would definitely bet that she was crying.

"Rachel?" He tried to speak softly, but saw that she still jumped at the sound of his voice. She probably hadn't expected to be followed.

"What are you doing here, Noah?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay."

Rachel gave a bitter laugh, looking up at him as the tears continued to slip down her cheeks completely unchecked. "Oh yes. I'm peachy keen, can't you tell? I was already the biggest freak in this school, but now it's worse. They all know." She buried her face back in her legs.

"So ignore them just like you always have."

"I can't!" she screamed, the sound muffled by her legs.

Oh, fuck this. Puck couldn't keep looking at this shell that was the Rachel Berry he knew. No matter how annoying she'd always been, he did not like this version of her. He needed to find a way to snap her out of it. Had he been thinking about it, he might have chosen a different way, since the way he chose just managed to upset her more, but hindsight is 20/20, right?

"Okay, fuck this, Berry! You need to knock it the fuck off." He knelt on the floor in front of her, forcing her face up so that she was looking at him. "Where the hell is the Rachel Berry that used to be able to ignore everything, even a Slushie facial? You need to find your fucking backbone, babe. Otherwise you're never gonna make it; they'll eat you alive."

Rachel just shook her head. "That girl is gone, Noah. That part of myself was ripped from me the minute that I – since that night." She shook off his hand, standing up so that she was actually taller since he was still kneeling. "If you don't like the new me, then you can just leave me alone. In fact, I'd prefer that you just leave me alone. I don't need you." The last few words were hissed as she strode past him and out the door.

Puck didn't know how he managed to do it, but he always seemed to make things worse. He sat down on the floor, ignoring the bell as it sounded. He just watched the door that Rachel had stalked out of as if she were going to walk right back in.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but by the time he got up and headed to class, he realized that it was now time for second period. But not until he'd walked into his first period class and his teacher had asked if he knew how to tell time. He'd been so distracted that he hadn't even said anything, just walked out and headed to his next class. What the fuck was happening to him?

* * *

Puck walked into the practice room just as Mr. Schue was calling them to attention. Heading over to the seat that Quinn had saved beside her, he realized that Rachel wasn't in the room. "Where's Rachel?"

Mr. Schuester frowned at him since he'd been in the middle of talking about whatever song they would be singing next. "Rachel will not be joining us today. As I was saying..."

Puck didn't even bother to listen. He stood up, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and headed towards the door. He needed to figure out what the fuck was going on with Rachel. She _never_ missed Glee practice. It was like the one thing she lived for, her chance to shine. Her missing practice was _not_ a good sign.

"Puck, where are you going?" There was a hint of frustration in Mr. Schue's voice at once again being interrupted.

"I have something I have to take care of," he called over his shoulder as he continued out of the room.

"Puck! Where are you going?

He heard Quinn call out to him, but he just ignored her. After this morning, he didn't even want to get into it with her about the fact that he was going to check on Rachel again. It would just piss her off and that would in turn piss him off. He didn't need to deal with that shit right now. Although he was going to have to eventually, because there was no way this shit could keep up the way that it had been.

Once he reached his truck, he threw his backpack into the cab before climbing in. As he drove to Rachel's house, he couldn't help but wonder why the hell he cared so much about here. They'd dated for all of five minutes during their sophomore year and hadn't really even been that good of friends after that. But even as he thought that, he knew that it wasn't true. Whenever he'd needed a friend she'd been there for him, and he'd helped her out on multiple occasions. Not to mention the fact that she had been raped at his house. It made him feel responsible.

He shook off his thoughts as he arrived at her house, finding her car as well as her dads' cars parked in the driveway. Knocking on the door, he wondered about the response that he'd receive. But the door was swung open and he saw that both of her dads were standing there.

"Uh, hi..."

"Thank God." He was pulled into the house, the door shut quickly behind him. "When we came home she was already here and she's locked herself in her room. We can't even get her to talk to us. She won't respond to anything we say."

Puck shook his head, not even bothering to reply as he headed up the stairs. It was like déjà vu, his heading up the stairs to her locked door to try and make progress where her dads couldn't. He knocked softly, waiting to see if she would respond.

He could hear Rachel crying on the other side of the door, but there was no answer, so he spoke through the door. "Rachel, I need you to open up the door and let me in."

"Go away, Noah!" Her voice was hoarse as she screamed at him.

"I'm not gonna go away, Rach. I'm going to stay out here until you open up and let me in." There was no response, so he continued talking to her, "Babe, I might not be a big talker but I will stand out here all night talking to you if I have to." Another pause. "You know those people at school are a bunch of idiots, right?" When she didn't say anything, he could feel the frustration building up. "Look, if you don't open the door, I'm gonna break it down and that's gonna piss off your dads." He rattled the doorknob, leaning on the door to test it. She might not believe him but he would totally do it.

"Ugh, you're a real pain, Noah." As she spoke, he heard the click of the door unlocking and quickly pushed the door open. He wasn't going to chance her changing her mind and locking it again.

When he got into the room he found her sitting on her bed, her back to the door. He looked around the room as he tried to figure out what the hell he was supposed to say, to do. He wasn't used to doing this kind of thing and it was all so new to him.

He walked over to the bed, sitting down beside her, her back still to him. "C'mon, Rach. You've gotta look at me sometime." He watched as her body shook, knowing that she was crying silently. Maybe the time for babying was over. He grabbed her wrist and tried to force her to turn towards him, but stopped at her yelp of pain.

"What the fuck?" He stood, shoving the sleeve of her shirt up. On her wrist were bandages. "What the hell is this?" He jerked the bandages off and then stared in dismay at the gouges on her wrist. "When did you do this? What the fuck were you thinking?"

He jerked her face up so that she was looking at him. He was so angry that all he wanted to do was shake her, but knew that it would not help the situation. "Damn it, Rachel. Tell me what the fuck is going on!"

The tears slid down her cheeks as she looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. She tried to yank her arm out of his grip but when she couldn't she whispered, "Earlier today. I just – I just thought that maybe I would be better off..." She shook her head. "But I chickened out, which is why they're not that deep."

"Fuck this. I could fucking kill you for this." Puck tried to keep his voice controlled but knew that the anger was leaking out. "Damn it, Rachel. This is _not_ okay." He grasped her by her shoulders and shook her. "Do you understand that this is not the way to deal with this?"

Rachel finally looked up at him and he could see the desperation in them. "Yes..."

All right, well at least that was a plus. Now what the fuck did he do? Did he tell her dads? No, that would just make her shut down more. "Okay, we're going out. C'mon." When he tried to pull her up, she resisted, refusing to allow him to help her up.

"No, I don't want to go anywhere. I want to stay in my room."

"I'm not asking, Rachel. Now c'mon." He again tried to pull her into a standing position but she still fought him. "Okay, you asked for it." Leaning down Puck pulled her up and over his shoulder. He knew that she was shocked by the action when she didn't fight him. She was so small that even when she began to struggle he had no trouble holding her.

He paused in the doorway to the living room where her dads sat, wide eyed as they looked at the pair. "We're going for a drive. I'll have her back in a little while and in one piece." Without another glance he threw open the door and headed for his truck. He tossed her into the passenger seat and when she reached for the handle he all but growled at her. "Do it and I'll just chase you down. You _are _going with me. Period. Now deal." He watched as the fight went out of her before heading over to the driver's side door. Fuck. Now what the hell was he going to do with her?


	6. Author's Note

Hello readers! I just wanted to post a quick A/N to let everyone reading this story know that I have officially changed my pen name for personal reasons. I didn't want to throw anyone off when they got the updates under a new name so I hope that no one is confused. Also thanks for reading, reviewing and favoriting this story. It's always good to know that people are enjoying what I write. A new chapter will be up within a few days, promise. I just don't want to post it too soon. lol. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!


	7. Chapter 6

**_A/N:_**_ Yay! Another update. lol. I hope that this story is still going ok for all of you readers. I'd like to thank you all for continuing to read and I hope to not disappoint...You will find a song in this chapter and for those of you have no taste in music (haha just kidding) the song is **Fix You** by Coldplay...Now onto the story..._

* * *

They'd been driving for hours and she'd yet to say a single word. Puck had known that she'd be mad, but this Rachel was so unlike the one that he was used to that he just didn't know what to do. Seeing the turn ahead, he almost laughed out loud. He hadn't even realized that he'd been heading this way. He made the turn and followed the road until they were beside the lake. He turned the truck off and just sat staring out the window.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he eventually turned to Rachel. She was staring out the passenger side window, body tense. He closed his eyes and sighed. He didn't even know where to fucking start. He flipped the radio on and rolled down the window before climbing out. He didn't say anything to Rachel, knowing that if she wanted to, she would join him.

He lowered the tailgate and climbed into the bed of the truck. He stared up at the stars, humming alone to the song on the radio. He knew he should have a plan. It was obvious that Rachel needed help and he didn't know how the hell to give it. He was out of his element and he didn't like it one bit.

Puck almost sighed in relief when the truck shifted under him and the door opened. He glanced down to find Rachel standing at the end of the truck. She stood there for a minute, shifting from foot to foot while refusing to meet his eyes.

He rolled his eyes. "Well are you going to stand there all fucking night like an idiot or are you going to climb up here?"

Rachel glanced up at him, the shock apparent in her eyes. Well, that was something at least. Maybe he could shock her the fuck out this. He had to fight a smile as she climbed up next to him, lying down beside him without touching him. He glanced over at her once to see her staring up at the stars.

So maybe she still wasn't talking to him, but he guessed that this was a step in the right direction. He'd spent many nights staring up at the sky and praying for the day that he'd get the fuck out of this town. Unlike Rachel who knew exactly what she wanted from life, he just knew that he wanted the fuck out of Lima, better yet out of Ohio.

The worst part of this whole situation is that he was watching the strongest girl that he knew fall apart at the seams and he didn't know how to fix it. He didn't know why it was so important for him to fix it, to fix her, but he had to. He glanced over at her again and almost missed the trail of tears that were sliding down her cheeks. Well, fuck.

"Rach, shit..." Puck shifted so that he was lying on his side and reached out a hand to touch her arm but stopped when she jerked back. He hated that she pulled away from him. Even though he would never admit it, it fucking hurt. He felt like shoving his head through a wall as the frustration built within him. He was once again at a loss of what to do. He'd dealt with hysterical women before, but this was different. Different because it was her.

A familiar song began to play on the radio and he found himself humming along as the first chords because to play before singing along.

_When you try your best, but you don't succeed_

_When you get what you want, but not what you need_

_When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep_

_Stuck in reverse_

_And the tears come streaming down your face_

_When you lose something you can't replace_

_When you love someone, but it goes to waste_

_Could it be worse? _

Why hadn't he thought of music sooner? Music was what ruled her and as he watched she slowly began to relax. Her eyes closed while the tears continued to fall so he just kept singing.

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bone_

_sAnd I will try to fix you_

_And high up above or down below_

_When you're too in love to let it go_

_But if you never try you'll never know_

_Just what you're worth _

It happened slowly, but the tears began to slow until they had finally stopped altogether. Her eyes opened and met his. He felt a burst of hope surge through him. Maybe he can do this shit after all.

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to fix you_

_Tears stream down on your face_

_When you lose something you cannot replace_

_Tears stream down on your face_

_And on your face I... _

Rachel had slowly inched her way over to him while he sang to her. He laid back, stretching out his arm so that she could come closer. If it had been anyone else or any other situation, he would've pulled her to him, but he didn't want to scare her off.

_Tears stream down on your face_

_I promise you I will learn from my mistakes_

_Tears stream down on your face_

_And on your face I..._

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to fix you _

As the song ended, he found Rachel lying on his chest, clutching at his shirt, and his arm had tightened around her. He could feel that she was crying again, her tiny frame shaking, so he just held her and kept singing. If this was the only thing he could do for her now, he was okay with it.

* * *

Puck didn't know how long they'd been lying there, but Rachel's sobs had quieted and they were lying in a quiet silence. For the first time since that night, Puck thought that maybe, just maybe, it might all be okay.

"_We doin'…big pimpin', we spendin' G's..."_

The sudden noise startled them both. Rachel jerked away until she was sitting with her back against the side of the truck. Fuck. Now she was back to being the scared little mouse. And who the fuck was calling him anyways?

He pulled the phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Quinn. Fuck, just what he needed. He pressed ignore, dropping it onto the bed of the truck. He turned back to Rachel who had her arms around knees that she'd drawn up to her chest. She was looking at him with blank eyes.

"Who is it?"

Puck shrugged. "It's no one."

"Noah..." Her voice lacked the usual disappointment, but it so sounded so much like something that the old Rachel would've said that he cracked a smile. "Who is it?"

"It's Quinn." He shrugged again. "I'll call her back later."

Rachel shook her head. "No, answer it now. She's probably just wondering where you are. And I don't want to be the cause of any problems between the two of you." She looked away from him.

He sighed. He really didn't want to deal with Quinn's shit right now. "'lo?"

"Where the hell are you?"

"Well hello to you, too, Quinn." Puck rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious, Puck. Where the hell are you? What the hell happened at Glee? You know you stranded me there without a ride."

It took everything in him not to chuck the phone into the lake. This was the exact reason that he hadn't want to answer the damn phone. "Look, Q. I just went to check on Berry. She had a rough day."

"Well, that's just great. But where are you now? Will you come pick me up?"

Puck cleared his throat. "Yeah, I can't do that. I'm still with her."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Quinn's voice screeched over the phone and he had to pull it away from his ear for a moment. "I don't understand why you're making this your problem. I get that this bad thing happened to her and I feel awful for her, but maybe she should have someone else help her through this. I need you too, you know. And since you are my boyfriend-"

Puck didn't wait to hear anymore; he just shut the phone, ending the conversation. He was so pissed that he was almost literally seeing red. What the fuck was Quinn's problem? Instead of saying what a good guy he was for helping out a friend in need, she was riding his ass. What the fuck?

He looked up to find Rachel looking at him, her eyes sad. "Can you take me home?"

"But-"

"No, Noah. I want to go home now." She slid from the bed of the truck and climbed back into the cab without another word.

Well, great. Yet another thing that he fucked up. Was he ever going to be able to get this shit right? He was beginning to think not. With a sigh, he climbed down and headed for the driver's seat.


	8. Chapter 7

**_A/N:_**_ Another chapter! I hope that you all are still enjoying the story that I am spinning. I love angst (obviously) and hope that I am doing this justice. Also I wanted to let you all know that I am looking for some ideas for oneshots or short multi part stories so if you have any requests please feel free to leave them in a comment. =) I'd love to reward my faithful readers. Haha. Also yes I would like to say that once again I have made Quinn a complete and utter bitch in this story and I do not hate her - in fact I love her, but the story just spun itself this way. Anyways onto the story..._

* * *

Rachel had her door opened and was halfway out before he had even put the truck into park. Puck's hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist.

"Hey there, Speedy Gonzalez, hold your horses." He pulled her lightly back into the truck. When she wouldn't look at him, he used his other hand to lift her chin so that she was forced to meet his eyes. "Babe, you've gotta stop shutting everyone out." He shook his head. "You and I both know that I'm no good at this touchy feely shit, but you need to talk to someone, Rach. It's not going to do you any good to keep it all inside."

Rachel just shrugged, looking away from him. Puck wanted to take her by her shoulders and shake her because damn it, he was fucking right. Instead he just sighed and let go of her wrist. "I expect to see you at school tomorrow."

"But-"

"Nuh uh," he cut her off, "there's no room for arguments. You will be there." He grinned at her. "Now get inside before your dads think that I kidnapped you or some shit." He watched as Rachel started to climb out of the truck. "Hey, Rach." When she turned to face him he smirked. "Try not to dream about me too much, wouldn't want to disturb your sleep."

When a ghost of a smile formed on her lips, he was ecstatic. The smile hadn't really formed and only lasted for a second, but it was the most that he'd seen from her since that night. And thank fuck for that, because he wasn't sure what the hell else he was supposed to do for her.

* * *

Puck arrived at school early (well, early for him), and when he didn't see Rachel's car he almost headed towards her house, but he figured that she was probably on her way. After yesterday, she probably wasn't too keen on being there longer than necessary, so he headed into the school.

The scene awaiting him at his locker was one he would have liked to have avoided. Quinn was leaning against his locker, impatience radiating from her. When she spotted him, she shot away from the locker and headed towards him.

She was speaking before she ever reached him. "What is your problem, Puck? Why did you hang up on me last night?" Her hands were on her hips and her eyes were flashing. "I was trying to express an opinion on how you're spending way too much time with Rachel." She kept talking, but he zoned out. His eyes were roaming the hallway, glancing in the direction of Rachel's locker.

The warning bell went off and still no sign of Rachel. She'd fucking bailed. If she thought she was going to get away with that, she was dead wrong. He turned on his heel and headed for the door, not even realizing that Quinn had still been talking to him.

"What the hell, Puck?" Her voice carried down the hall. "Where are you going?"

Puck just ignored her, pushing open the door and heading towards his truck. The drive to her house was only about ten minutes and when he arrived, he saw that her car was still in the driveway. He was at her doorstep in seconds, simultaneously pounding on the door and ringing the bell. When this got no response, he started yelling as well. "Berry! I know you're fucking in there! Open up the damn door before I have to break a fucking window. Your dads will kill us both and you know it. You'd better open up this fucking -" He broke off as the door swung open.

Rachel stood in the doorway still in her pajamas, eyes red and puffy. "Go away, Noah. I don't feel well, I'm not going to school today." She started to shut the door on him, but his foot stopped the forward motion.

"That's a good try, Berry, but you're fucking going. Now do you want to shower and change or do I have to drag your ass there like this?"

Rachel's eyes were wide as she stared at him, trying to decide if he was serious or not. "I don't find this funny. I just want to go back to sleep." She tried to push the door shut again, but was unable to.

Puck pushed the door open, scooping her up in his arms and over his shoulder. "All right, but don't try to say I didn't give you the option."

"Put me down, you Neanderthal!" Rachel beat against his back, legs kicking.

Puck stopped, laughing. "I'll put you down if you go upstairs and get ready."

"Fine! Just put me down!" After he'd complied and set her on her feet, she stomped her heel down onto his foot. "You can't keep tossing me around like this, Noah, I'm a human being not some – some sack of potatoes."

"Well then, maybe you should start listening to me instead of arguing." He pointed towards the stairs. "Now get ready. You have twenty minutes before I come up there and get you ready myself. We should be able to make it to second period."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "Like you care about going to class."

"No, but you do."

Rachel's face softened for a second before she went back to glaring at him. "Fine, I'll get ready, but I just want it known that I am doing so under duress and that I despise you."

Puck just shrugged and threw himself down onto her couch as she headed up the stairs. True to her word, she was downstairs and ready to go in twenty minutes. She wore a baggy sweatshirt and a pair of baggy jeans and he wanted to turn her around and force her to put on her normal clothes because this was something that the old Rachel Berry would never have been caught dead in. He decided against it though, knowing that she needed to be comfortable.

They made it to school just before their first period ended and Puck led her to her locker so that she could get her books. When the bell rang, she jumped and visibly tensed.

He gently massaged her shoulders, leaning over to whisper in her ear, "No one is going to mess with you, Berry, I'll make sure of it. Consider me your personal bodyguard for the door."

And he kept to his promise, walking her to her next class and somehow he was waiting for her when she walked out at the end of class. This continued on throughout the day and he'd even eaten lunch with her in the auditorium. People were giving them funny looks, but no one said a word. If anyone looked like they had a snide remark to make, Puck gave them the look that told them he'd kill them if they even opened their mouth.

As the day continued on, Puck could tell that she was getting more and more comfortable. By the time it was time for Glee, he'd let his guard down, not bothering to worry about her because she seemed to be doing fine on her own. He still walked her to practice (not that he was a fucking pussy, he was just worried about her) and when they walked in Puck realized that they were the last ones there. Not abnormal for him, but definitely for Rachel.

They took their seats, which happened to be in front of Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. Everyone called out hellos to the duo, even Santana. Well, everyone except Quinn, who leaned back in her chair and glared. Her arms were crossed and her body radiated tension.

Puck turned around in his seat to face her. "Hey, Q."

Quinn glanced over at them, rolling her eyes but not speaking to them. She quickly turned away, nose in the air as she spoke to Santana and Brittany.

Puck turned to Rachel who was looking at him confused. He just shrugged. There was no fucking telling what he had done to piss off his girlfriend this time – although if he was honest with himself he knew that it had to do with the brunette whose side he'd been attached to all day. But even if he admitted it to himself, there was no way he'd tell her that. Rachel was going through enough and didn't need to know about the friction she was causing in his relationship.

"So, guys, this week's theme was lost love. I hope that all of you have had time to prepare a song. Who would like to go first?" Mr. Schue looked around the room, and when no one volunteered he turned to Rachel. "What about you, Rachel?"

Rachel opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Puck knew that she hadn't had a chance to come up with a song, but he knew how to cover for her as well.

"Yeah, Mr. Schue, me and Rachel are gonna do a duet if that's cool?"

Mr. Schuester shrugged. "Sure, why not. C'mon up."

"What a surprise," Quinn hissed loud enough for them all to hear. "She's got him following her around like a puppy anyways. Why not have him do her assignment for her?"

Rachel glanced over her shoulder at Quinn, a look of confusion passing over her face before she turned back to Puck. "Noah, what are we going to sing?" she hissed so that only he could hear.

Puck leaned over, plucking her music folder until he found what he was looking for. He flashed it at her before handing it over to the band. He saw her shoot him a grateful smile as the music began.

Well, hell, what did she expect? For him to let her fall on her face because she'd been through hell and back? Fuck that shit. And thankfully he'd needed music often enough that he knew what she had in that folder of hers. Otherwise they'd have been royally fucked. His eyes met hers as he began to sing.

The song was "Picture" by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. He had to admit that the song was a bit of a pussy song especially from someone who had been so badass at one time, but it was still good. When it was her time to sing, he knew that he'd picked the perfect song—she sounded awesome (not that she didn't always).

As their voices joined, he linked his hand through hers and sang just to her. It was like they were in their own little world. As they sang the last note, the applause that broke out around them was what pulled them back down to earth.

Rachel pulled her hand from his and walked back to her seat with her head down. He hated to say it, but he missed the Rachel Berry that would prattle on about why she'd chosen a song and how it was so perfect and grin like a loser when she was done. With a shake of his head he followed her back to their seats, only to find Quinn leaning over and talking to Rachel.

"You need to keep your paws off of my man," Quinn hissed, sitting up as Puck neared. She glared at him before turning away from him.

"Mr. Schue, I have a suggestion." Kurt stood up from his seat between Mercedes and Finn.

"Yes, Kurt?"

"I think that we should give Puck a solo...on a song with Rachel. They sound good together."

Puck turned around, shooting the other boy a funny look. What the fuck was going on with this shit? Kurt just shrugged at him before sitting.

"Just what we need. Rachel having more solos." Quinn rolled her eyes.

Puck turned his attention to his girlfriend. "Dude..."

"Shut up, Puck. No one wants to hear you defend your little charity case anymore."

Seriously, what the fuck was the bitch's problem now? What stick did she have up her ass? He didn't know, but he planned to find the fuck out. He turned from her to try and pay attention to whatever the fuck Schue was blabbering on about now.

* * *

Once practice was over, he gestured to Rachel to wait for him before scrambling out of the door to catch up with Quinn.

"Q!" he called after her, but she just ignored him and kept walking. He jogged down the hall until he caught her arm in his hand. "What the fuck was that shit, Q?"

Quinn jerked her arm from his grip, rolling her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, Puck? I'm tired of you choosing her over me."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me! I thought you got over this bitchy shit after Beth. I don't have time for this shit. You do realize that Rachel was _raped_, don't you?"

"I do." She had the grace to look guilty for a moment as she glanced away. "But you're my boyfriend and she's taking you away from me. How is that fair to me?"

Puck closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm down. "I don't know what the fuck your problem is all of the sudden, Quinn, but I'm done. We're done." He turned and started to walk away from her.

"Excuse me?" Quinn's voice was shrill as she grabbed his arm this time. "Please do not tell me that you just chose Rachel over me?"

Puck shook his head, a laugh spilling from him before he could stop it. "I didn't choose. You did when you started being a selfish bitch."

"No, Puck. You're choosing her by breaking up with me."

Puck held up his hands in surrender. "Think what you want, the result is the same. I want nothing to do with someone like you."

"Like me?" Quinn's laugh was bitter. "You're like me."

"No, that's where you're wrong. I _used_ to be like you. I grew up kind of like I thought you had, but apparently I was wrong. Maybe you should try it some time." He turned on his heel, leaving her standing there sputtering.

As he turned the corner he ran into a small body. "Berry!"


	9. Chapter 8

**_A/N:_**_ So here is the next chapter. I got one request for a oneshot that I shall be working on here shortly. If anyone has any other ideas that they'd like to see maybe come to light please let me know! Thanks for reading and I sadly own nothing...lol...We get to see Puckleberry grow closer in this chapter and maybe, just maybe, Rachel will stop closing Puck out so much...but I guess you'll have to read to be sure._

* * *

Rachel stepped back from him quickly, avoiding his gaze. "I am very sorry, Noah. I did not mean to be eavesdropping."

Puck shook his head, trying to keep from rolling his eyes. "It's no big deal."

"You didn't need to do that."

"Do what?" It wasn't unusual for him to not know what the hell Rachel was talking about, but he was so not in the mood for this after his fight with Quinn.

"Break up with Quinn." She glanced up at him for a second before returning her gaze to the floor. "You didn't need to break up with her because of the way she has been treating me. I'm used to it. And she's right, I'm not your problem." She paused. "I bet if you go now she'll forgive you."

Puck sighed, lifting her chin so that she was forced to look at him. "Rachel, I don't want her forgiveness. I don't want her." He shook his head. "I'm finally becoming a man that my mom, hell that _I_ can be proud of. Why would I want to throw that all away for someone who just wants to bring me down? Why would I want to be with someone who brings me down?"

Rachel's smile was slow as it spread across her face. "I'm so proud of you." She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him to her.

Puck wrapped his own arms around her, loving the way that she felt in his arms. And the fact that she felt comfortable enough with him to touch him, let alone hug him, when she wouldn't let anyone else near her spoke volumes. When she started to pull back he let her, but slid his arms to her hips so that she had to stay where she was.

She looked up at him with a vulnerability in her eyes, a sadness that he just wanted to wipe away. But even with that look in her eyes she was beautiful (hot, he meant hot. What the fuck was he thinking? He didn't think of girls as beautiful) and he could feel himself sinking into her. He could get lost in her eyes for days – if he could just get rid of the fear that lingered behind the sadness.

Before he was even aware of what he was doing Puck began to lean down towards her. Their lips were mere inches apart when she jumped back from him, eyes wild with fear and confusion. Well fuck. Great fucking move Puck.

"Rachel," he said it softly, hoping not to spook her any further. Rachel just shook her head before turning and running down the hall, but not before he saw the tears streaming down her face.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Puck slammed his fist into the nearest locker, so angry with himself that he didn't even notice the pain. When was he going to stop being such a fuck up? It was like one step forward and two steps back. He'd think that he was starting to grow up and then bam, he did another fucking stupid thing. He was never going to learn, was he? This had definitely not been the time to make a move on Rachel for so many reasons.

The first and foremost reason being the hell that she'd just gone through. Another being that he'd just broken up with Quinn like two seconds ago and there he was trying to mack on Rachel. It was no fucking wonder that she'd run off. He was a fucking idiot. But a fucking idiot who was going to fix this shit.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later he was in front of the Berrys' house, trying to figure out how the hell he was going to fix this. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he stared up at the house, willing an idea to come to him. But damn it, he had nothing. And after the glance at the driveway showed that her dads weren't home, he couldn't even rely on their help.

Well fuck, he couldn't do shit from his truck. With a sigh, he climbed out, glancing up in time to see the curtain to Rachel's room fall back into place. Well she knew he was here. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. Maybe if he hadn't been such a pansy ass and sat in his car for the last twenty minutes she wouldn't have realized that he was here.

With a shake of his head, he approached the door and rang the bell. He stood there for a minute, shuffling his feet while he waited for her to open the door. Well fuck. Was she really going to try to pretend like she wasn't home? Fuck that shit.

He banged his hand against the door repeatedly while calling out, "Berry! I know you're home. You need to open the door." And still no response. Well he wasn't going to go anywhere until she opened the fucking door. He continued to bang on it, raising his voice until he was yelling. "Berry! Open up the damn door. I don't care if your entire neighborhood hears me. You'd better open the fucking door because I'm not going away." A movement caught his eye and he turned to see her neighbors peering at him from their porch. He raised his hand in a half wave. "See, Rach! They're already coming out to see what all the ruckus is. Just think how embarrassed you're going to be when you have to see them all after having me out here yelling—" He stopped when the door swung open to reveal a very pissed off Rachel.

"Stop making an ass of yourself and get in here." She turned and stomped away, leaving the door open.

Puck waved to her neighbors again before following her inside, shutting the door behind him. He found her in the living room, her anger obvious.

"What are you doing here, Noah?" Her hands were fisted on her hips and damn if she didn't look hot when she was pissed. He didn't realize he'd been staring until she stomped her foot. "Hello, I asked you a question."

Puck shook himself mentally. "We need to talk."

"Talk? About what?" She tried to look innocent, like she didn't know what he was referring to, but she didn't quite pull it off. "I really don't have anything to say to you."

He rolled his eyes. "Let's not play games, Rach. I'm sorry that I tried to kiss you. I just—" He ran a hand over his head as he tried to figure out what the hell he was trying to say. "I just, I don't know."

"That is so ever so eloquent, Noah." Rachel shook her head, looking out the window. "You had no right to be kissing me when not five minutes before you'd broken up with Quinn. I have enough on my plate to deal with than to be your rebound girl."

"Fuck, Rach. That's not what it was." He followed her gaze out the window, watching as people walked by. "I care about you. I always have." He shrugged. "Shit, I'm no good at this." He stepped towards her, gripping her upper arms, shaking her ever so slightly. "I care, Rachel. Don't you understand that? And seeing you like this tears me up. But I don't know what the fuck to do to make it better. I don't know how to fix it."

Rachel's eyes were glistening with tears when they met his. "You can't fix me, Noah, and you can't fix this." She shook her head, a smile beginning to form. "And since when did you share your feelings? I feel like you're a Pod Person or something. Where's the Noah Puckerman I know?"

Puck laughed as he pulled her to him. He knew that she'd forgiven him and he thanked God for it. "Everyone has to grow up sometime, Berry, even me."

Rachel pulled back from him, looking up into his face. "You are maturing and it suits you." Hesitantly she leaned up, her hands sliding up his chest until they were linked around his neck and pulled him down to her. Their lips met for only a second, but like anytime he'd ever kissed Rachel, it rocked him. He didn't know what it was about this girl but she did something to him that no one else had ever been able to do.

When they broke apart she looked down, stepping out of his arms. "Sorry."

"Sorry for what? Do you really think that I'm going to complain about you kissing me?"

Rachel shrugged. "After I berated you for trying to do the same thing to me? Maybe a little."

"Never." He was smiling when she glanced back up at him.

"Good." She linked his hand with hers before leading him upstairs to her room. Once there she led him to the bed and he looked down at her hesitantly. "I just need to be held. Can you hold me?"

He just nodded, sliding into the bed and opening his arms to her. When she snuggled up to him he couldn't help but think how right it felt for her to be in his arms.

* * *

It was hours later when he woke up with Rachel still in his arms. Glancing at the clock he realized that he needed to get home. He didn't want to wake up Rachel; she needed her sleep with everything that she'd been through, so he tried to get up without disturbing her.

He hadn't even gotten his arm out from under her when she stirred. "Where are you going?" He knew that it was so wrong, but she sounded sexy as hell with her voice raspy from sleep.

"It's after eleven, I've gotta get home."

"Stay. Please." Her eyes fluttered open and met his.

And how the fuck was he supposed to say no to that? He was technically grounded since his mom had obviously found out about the party. But maybe she wouldn't give him too much grief is he at least called. "Let me call my Ma." He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

"Noah, where are you?"

"Look, Ma. I know I'm grounded and whatever, but I'm over at Rachel's house." He paused, glancing down at the brunette. "She needs me tonight so I'm going to stay over here." Another pause. "If that's okay."

"Oh, of course honey. How is she? Is she okay? I mean, I know that she's not. But I'm so proud of you for being such a good friend to her. The poor dear. I still can't believe that something like that happened to such a sweet girl and in my own home."

She kept rambling on, but Puck tuned her out. Once his mom got going it was impossible to get her stopped. She was as bad as Rachel – or at least as bad as Rachel had been before. "Ma," he started, but when she kept going he raised his voice, "Ma!" This time she stopped talking. "Shit, Ma. I don't know how you expect me to keep up with you when you start rambling like that."

"I do not appreciate your language, but my point is that yes you may stay. Tell Rachel I said hello and that I hope she is doing well."

"Thanks, I'll do that." He snapped the phone shut before she could run off at the mouth again.

"Well?"

"She says I can stay." He paused. What the hell? He might as well tell her what his mom wanted him to. "She says hi and that she hopes you're going well. Her words, not mine."

Rachel smiled up at him. "That's sweet. Your mom is so sweet."

"To you maybe."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Don't act like you don't love her to death."

Now it was Puck's turn to roll his eyes. "Of course I love her, but damn she's fucking crazy."

"I really think you need to watch your language Noah. Especially when talking to your mother."

"It's no fucking wonder my mom likes you. You're just like her!" Puck rolled his head.

"That's great. Just what every girl wants to hear, that she's just like his mother." Rachel rolled onto her side, putting her back to him.

Puck pulled her close, snuggling up to her back and whispering in her ear, "It's not a bad thing, babe. Now let's go back to sleep."


	10. Chapter 9

**_A/N: _**_Hello readers! This story is drawing to a close, there is only a few more chapters after this one. I want to thank those of you who are reading and reviewing though the reviews are down =( But that's okay, I'm glad that those of you that are reading are reading. will see a bit more of bitchy Quinn here, but a nicer side of Santana which I always love to throw in because its nice to see that side of her. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

Puck woke up the next morning to find Rachel twined around him: her head on his chest, her arm over his stomach, and her legs tangled with his. But it was kind of freaky because she was staring up at him, unblinking.

"What?" He swiped at his face. "Did I drool or something?"

Rachel giggled (yes, fucking giggled) as she shook her head. "No. I just can't believe that you stayed."

"Said I would, didn't I?" His voice was gruff as he rolled his eyes. "Told you I'd take care of you. Don't know what the big fucking deal is."

"It is a big deal, Noah."

"What the fuck ever, just stop staring."

Then she started giggling at him again and he just shoved her off of him. "Shit, I need to get home so that I can get ready for school. Why didn't you wake me up?"

She was sitting up in the bed, legs drawn up to her chest with her chin resting on her knees and if it wasn't the cutest damn thing he'd ever seen (not that he'd ever admit that out loud). "You looked so cute I didn't want to wake you."

"Cute? Oh hell no, you take that back, Rachel Berry. There is nothing cute about me. Cute is not badass and I am a badass."

She giggled again and he was glad to see her happy. It had been such a rare occurrence that he almost didn't get mad at the fact that she was giggling at him. "All right Berry, now I'm not going to be able to pick you up before school so you're on your own."

She sobered at the mention of school and looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm not going to school."

"Like hell you're not." He was across the room and kneeling in front of her in seconds. "You can get over this staying locked in your room. You need to get out and do the things that you used to do, and that includes the school."

A smile played at her lips as she met his gaze. "Do you know how weird it is to hear you of all people telling me that I have to go to school?"

He laughed because she was right. He'd never thought that he'd be telling anyone, let alone Rachel, that they had to go to school. "Doesn't matter. You're going and that's all there is to it."

She just shrugged, but at least she stood up from the bed and headed towards her closet. That was a good sign, he assumed. "Before you start getting ready, do you mind walking me down? I don't wanna deal with your dads on my own."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I don't understand why you're worried about my dads. They love you."

"And that shit is just weird. Dads don't like me."

"Well mine do." Rachel took his hand in hers and began to lead him out of her room and downstairs.

Puck had thought that they were going to get lucky and not run into her dads when they neared the door, but he should've known they wouldn't.

"Rachel, honey, is that you?" Her dads stepped out of the dining room and their eyes widened when they saw him. "Honey, what is Noah doing here?"

Rachel looked down at the ground. "He stayed the night. I didn't want to be by myself. I'm sorry, I know I should've asked but I didn't think that you'd mind."

He was so fucked and he knew it. There was no fucking way that they were going to let this fly. He was going to get kicked out and told to never come back. Fuck. How the hell could he fix this shit? He knew his reputation and knew that her dads knew it too. Would they even believe him if he said that he hadn't tried anything and wouldn't have tried anything? Rachel had been through too much shit to deal with him trying to get her to sleep with him. Even he wasn't that big of a douche.

He glanced down at Rachel, seeing that she was looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. Did she expect him to say something? And what was he supposed to say? _Don't worry, I didn't fuck your daughter_? Yeah he was sure that would go over really well.

When her white dad (he really needed to remember their names) held out his hand, Puck just looked down at it, not really sure what was going on. "Thank you."

What? He was in shock as he shook first one hand and then the other dad's hand. They were thanking him? What for?

"We know that you've been there for Rachel through all of this and I don't know what it would be like if you weren't. She was such a mess."

"Daddy! I'm right here." Rachel's cheeks were bright red and although he knew it was inappropriate Puck couldn't help but think how hot she looked. "Can we please not talk about this?"

"Sorry, baby girl. I know it makes you uncomfortable. Goodbye, Noah." And with that they turned and retreated back into the dining room.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what gets into them sometimes. That was—"

"Awkward?" Puck laughed. "Yeah, awkward is the word for it. I think I'm going home before they realize that they just thanked me for sleeping with you instead of being the shit out of me."

Rachel smiled up at him before leaning in and hugging him. "They would never do that. I told you that they liked you."

"Whatever, I'm out. I can't deal with this shit this early in the morning." He swung open the door, turning to look her in the eye. "I _will_ see you at school."

"Yes, Noah. I will be there."

* * *

The school day was uneventful as Puck led her from one class to another. No one offered a foul word to her although Quinn spent the entire day glaring at her. Puck knew that it was throwing Rachel off that the blonde was looking at her like she wanted her dead. But she was a trooper, ignoring the glares and walking alongside him anyways. When Quinn didn't try anything he thought that they were home free, but he'd forgotten about Glee. Which had been dumb.

He and Rachel walked in together, but not touching. She wasn't comfortable with the thought of them holding hands or kissing, or anything really, in public. Which he was fine with. He knew what she was going through and even though he didn't know how it felt, he understood that he had to give her space.

Quinn was standing just inside the door and stepped in their path as they tried to walk in. "Well if it isn't the homewrecker. Managed to ruin another one of my relationships. Does that make you happy, Manhands?"

Rachel looked down at the ground and Puck could see the tears glistening in her eyes. "Back the fuck off, Quinn."

Quinn rolled her eyes as she looked over at him. "You're an ass, Puck." She grinned sweetly before flouncing off to sit between Mercedes and Santana.

Puck glanced down at Rachel who was trying so hard to hold back the tears that she was shaking. "C'mon, babe. You can't let her get to you. She's angry and she's lashing out."

Rachel glanced up at him. "You've got to stop saying such profound things, Noah. It's weirding me out."

He laughed as he took her elbow and led her to two seats as far away from Quinn as they could get. After she sat he pulled her chair closer, tossing his arm around the back of her seat. When she shot him a questioning look he just shrugged before settling back in his chair. She might not be ready to be with him but he wanted to make sure that everyone got the point that she was fucking his.

He thought that everything was going to be fine once Mr. Schue came in because Quinn wouldn't start any shit with him around. They started working on their newest number "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams. Even he had to admit that it was a fucking badass song. And it didn't hurt that he got to sing in it. He, Finn, and Sam were alternating the leads while everyone else danced around them.

He took Rachel's hand and swung her out, but something was off and she went barreling into Quinn who turned on her quickly. "I would've thought that years of dance class that you're always bragging about would make it a little easier for you to learn choreography, Manhands."

The entire group had stopped and the room was silent except for the sharp intake of air from Mr. Schue. Everyone was so shocked that they just stood there in silence. It was one thing for Quinn to rag on Rachel when no one could hear or where only they could hear, but right in front of Mr. Schue?

"What's wrong?" Quinn sneered as she looked down at the other girl. "Cat got your tongue? Or is it more like _Puck_ has your tongue."

And just like that everyone unfroze. In a move that utterly shocked Puck, Santana jumped in front of the blonde, eyes blazing. "Who the hell do you think you are, Fabray? You've always been a bitch, but this is pushing things too far." By this point the Latina was in Quinn's face and the shock was written all over Quinn's face. She had to be thinking the same thing that he was. Since when did Santana stick up for Rachel?

Santana was just about to say something else when she felt a small hand on her arm. She spun around to find Rachel there. "Thank you, Santana, but I can fight my own battles." Without waiting for a response she spun on Quinn. "I've put up with a lot from you the last few days, Quinn, and it's not right. I want you to think back to sophomore year. Do you remember when you were pregnant and ostracized for it? Do you remember how that felt? Well I can promise you that what I'm going through is worse than that." She paused, in the other's girls face at this point. "And I hope to God that you never know what it's like to be—to be—raped."

Holy shit. This was the first time that Rachel had said that word since it had happened. And just saying it took its toll on her. He watched as she collapsed in on herself, her shoulders hunching as she turned away from Quinn. She took her place to begin the song again while everyone else just stared.

To her credit Quinn did look ashamed, her face red as she refused to meet anyone's eyes. He couldn't believe that Rachel had gone off on her. It looked like she might actually be coming back to herself. Maybe she could finally move on with her life. He didn't know anything about being raped, but he knew that Rachel would carry this with her for the rest of her life. But maybe, just maybe, she was beginning the process to move forward. And he hoped that he might be able to help her with that.

The rest of practice ran smoothly, if a bit tense, but they made it through. Once it was over he walked up to Rachel with a grin on his face. "Didn't know you had it in you, Berry."

She turned to look at him, her head tilted slightly. "What? To lose my temper on someone who has decided that it's their sole mission to make life miserable?"

Puck frowned. Well fuck, when she put it that way. "I'm sorry, babe. It's my fault."

"I wasn't trying to make you feel bad, Noah. I'm just trying to make a point. I _can_ take care of myself. I don't need you or anyone else to do it for me."

"Maybe you don't need anyone, but maybe you should let people help you out sometimes." The voice came from behind him and Puck turned around to see Santana standing there. Her eyes were locked on Rachel as she spoke. "If you want to talk, I _do_ know what you're going through. At least slightly. My freshman year, a senior tried to rape me. We were interrupted so it's not like it happened, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you need me. And I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier." She paused. "About that or about how Quinn was treating you." She glanced up at Puck and the sneer returned to her face. "What are you looking at, Puckerman?" With one more glance at Rachel, Santana turned off and bounced over to Brittany.

"Well, that was—"

"Awkward?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Noah, stop doing that. And no it wasn't awkward. It was nice...and a little weird. Especially coming from Santana."

"Forget Santana. I just wanted to tell you that going off on Quinn? That shit was awesome, babe."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but let out a little laugh. "You're incorrigible, Noah."

"You fucking know it!"


	11. Chapter 10

**_A/N: _**_So...this is almost the last chapter...I really hope that you've enjoyed the story so far. Thank you so much for the reviews from the last chapter. They made me smile beyond belief! Love you all! In this chapter we get to see more Pezberry bonding and more kickass Rachel. Would love to hear what you think...  
_

* * *

The next few days passed without incident. Puck was constantly by Rachel's side and even Quinn had laid off. Apparently once Rachel (and Santana) had laid into her, she just didn't have it in herself to lash out at Rachel. Puck had spent every night at her house, just holding her. If anyone had told him a few weeks ago that he'd be sleeping in a girl's bed and doing nothing but holding her, he would've laughed at them. But that was exactly what he was doing and the funny part was that he didn't even mind. In fact he kind of liked it.

But it was Friday now and Mike was having a party at his place. The entire glee club had been invited along with the usual suspects (jocks, Cheerios, you name it) and Puck wanted to go, but he knew there was no way he would go without Rachel. He didn't know when it had happened, but the two of them had become one. They didn't get invited to do anything without the other being invited. They didn't go anywhere without the other. It was a weird feeling for him.

He didn't know how she'd react to the idea, but knew that the only thing he could do was ask. So when he met her after her last class before lunch he stopped her before they headed for the cafeteria.

"Babe, I wanted to talk to you."

Rachel looked up at him, a question in her eyes. And fear? What the fuck was she afraid of?

"So Mike's having a party tonight and I want to go."

Rachel shrugged, glancing away. "Well then go. I'll be fine by myself for one night."

He laughed. "Not what I meant, Berry. I want you and I to go to Mike's party tonight."

Her eyes shot to his and this time he did read the fear in them. "Noah, I can't go to a party." She shook her head.

"Why the hell not?"

"Do you not remember what happened to me the last time I was at a party?"

The guilt was instant. Why hadn't he thought of that? Why would she want to go to a party when the last time Jesse (fucking douche) had raped her? But shit, if she didn't start living her life then how would she ever move past it?

"I know, babe, but you know how the saying goes. 'If you fall off a horse, try, try again.'" He took her hand into his, squeezing it slightly to reassure her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Rachel laughed, a full body laugh that had her shaking. "That's not quite how it goes, Noah. It's 'if you fall off a horse, you have to get back on.'"

Puck shrugged. "What the fuck ever, you get the point, Berry. You need to fucking go."

"And you _still_ need to watch your language, Noah." Rachel shook her head, but he caught the smile that she was trying to fight. "But if this party is important to you then I guess I'll go."

"Fuck yes!"

Rachel rolled her eyes, ignoring the fact that he'd spoken. "No matter how badly you mess up the saying, the meaning is still there. I do need to get on with my life."

"That's my girl." Puck dropped a kiss on her forehead before leading her towards the cafeteria. He was sure of one thing: he was going to make sure she had a good time tonight so that she didn't dread parties every time he wanted her to go.

* * *

"Berry, you can_not _wear that."

Rachel looked down at her outfit. "Why not? What's wrong with it?"

Puck snorted, but kept his comments to himself as Santana rolled her eyes at the smaller girl. "Because it's a _party_, not a fucking funeral."

Rachel had put on a pair of black slacks and a white shirt that buttoned practically to her chin. She looked like she was about to say something, but stopped at Santana's glare.

"Lemme see what I can find." Santana stepped into Rachel's closet. "I know you've got to have something in here. At least we know you've got the skirts."

Thirty minutes later Puck was sitting downstairs in the living room, pretending to listen to her dads because Santana had kicked him out of Rachel's room. Apparently he wasn't allowed to see until Rachel was a "finished product" (Santana's words, not his, and he'd seen Rachel bristle at the words). If they didn't hurry the fuck up they were going to be super fucking late. And he wasn't talking about fashionably late, just plain old fucking late.

He didn't know what drew his attention to the doorway, she hadn't made a noise, but suddenly he was looking and he couldn't stop. Rachel looked fucking hot. He didn't know what Santana had done to her, but damn. She wore one of her little black skirts that left nothing to the imagination, a silver, sparkly tank top (who the fuck knew Rachel would own anything like that?) and instead of knee socks and loafers she had on a pair of strappy heels that had to be Santana's. Her hair was pulled up on her head messily and her eyes were smoky. Rachel was gorgeous no matter what she was wearing, but hot damn.

"Rach, you look gorgeous." Puck stood up from the couch, completely oblivious to the fact that her dad had been in the middle of a sentence.

Rachel pulled at the tank top and the skirt, not meeting his eyes. "I don't know. Don't you think that it's too much?" She laughed. "Or I guess I mean too little?"

"C'mon, Berry. Man up. You look hot." Santana stood behind the other girl, hands on hips as she shook her head.

"She's right, babe. You look hot." He paused. "But if you're not comfortable then maybe you should change." What the fuck? When the hell had he turned into a fucking pussy?

Rachel looked up at him slowly, a smile forming on her lips. "You really like it?"

"Hell yes," he hissed quietly, hoping that the words wouldn't travel to her dads.

Rachel shrugged. "I guess I'm fine then. Let's get going. Bye, Dad! Bye, Daddy!" she called over her shoulder as she led the other two teens out of her house.

When they got to Mike's house, the party was in full swing. Music was blaring and from the stumbling people it was obvious that the booze had been flowing. As Puck led Rachel into the house he felt her step closer, her hand gripping his tightly. When he glanced down at her he saw that her face was drawn tight. She was so tense and he could tell that she was anxious.

Why the fuck had he brought her here again? What the fuck had he been thinking? He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her more securely against him. "You okay, babe? We can jet if you want."

Rachel looked up at him for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I need to be here. You were right. I can't just assume that bad things are going to happen because of that one night."

Puck leaned down, kissing her lightly before leading her further into the party. They wandered around, mingling and getting drinks (beer for him and a soda for her). Before long they had settled onto one of the couches, Puck with his arm around Rachel.

They were talking with Brittany and Santana when he felt her tense under his arm. He turned to look at her and she looked terrified. He followed her line of sight and almost jumped out of his seat. Jesse St. James was across the room, making out with a blonde who looked vaguely familiar. He thought she might be a Cheerio, but couldn't place her name.

The only thing that stopped him from jumping up and beating the shit out of the douche was Rachel's hand on his arm. She'd felt him tense and was now looking up at him, her eyes gleaming with tears. "No, Noah. This is something that I have to take care of on my own."

He watched as she stood, straightening her shoulders and pulling herself up to her full (still super short) height before stalking across the room. Both he and Santana trailed behind her, not wanting to miss what was about to happen.

Rachel reached over and tapped Jesse on his shoulder. He broke away from the blonde, a snarl on his lips. "What the hell do you want?"

Rachel just ignored his question, instead turning to the girl. "I just thought that I'd take the opportunity to let you that this boy here, Jesse St. James, is a rapist. He doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the word 'no.' So if you were thinking about not sleeping with him then I might recommend that you leave him now because you'll regret it later."

The girl looked from Rachel to Jesse, her eyes wide before shoving Jesse off of her and heading away from them. "This is so not worth it."

After watching the girl walk away, Jesse turned to her, his eyes wild. "What the hell is your problem, Rachel?"

"My problem?" Rachel laughed, a bitter sound so unlike her usual laugh. "I told you no, Jesse, and you didn't stop. You didn't listen and you should have. A woman has a right to change her mind, to say no and have a man listen to her. A woman shouldn't have to worry that a man who had supposedly loved her once upon a time wouldn't stop when she said no." She paused, tears falling down her cheeks. "You stole my virginity from me, you ripped the choice from me. You're a monster, Jesse St. James, and that night will haunt my dreams forever."

Jesse scoffed. "You're a liar. You're a whore who asked for it and then changed her mind."

Rachel looked like she was going to go for him, but Santana beat her to it. Santana stepped around Rachel, her fist flying into Jesse's face before shoving him down onto the floor. "Rachel is not a whore and she would never lie about anything like that. Fucking douche." She kicked him once before looking back at Rachel. "Sorry. I know you said you could handle it, but I lost my temper."

Rachel sent her a sad smile before looking down at the fallen boy. "You can try to spin it however you want, but you raped me, Jesse. And I won't let you do it to anyone else."

"You can't prove that it happened. It'll be your word against mine."

"And that's where you're wrong," Puck said as he stepped forward. "I took her to the hospital and there was a kit done. All she has to do is tell the police it was you and the evidence is right there. Try to weasel your way out of that one, douchebag."

He stepped up next to Rachel, wrapping his arm around her when he noticed her shaking. He nodded his head to Mike who, with Finn's help, lifted the boy from the floor. "You're not welcome around here anymore. Come back again and it won't be a girl kicking your ass next time." He began pulling Rachel from the room, trying to shield her from the staring eyes. "C'mon, babe. Let's go outside."

He'd just settled them both onto Mike's back porch when Santana wandered out. "How are you, Rachel?"

Rachel looked up from where she sat snuggled against his body and sighed. "I'm okay." She paused. "Better than okay I think. It felt so much better to get that off my chest." She swiped at the tears that still fell down her face. "What if he'd done the same thing to that girl?"

Santana shook her head. "He won't be able to do it to anyone around here for a long time because of you."

Rachel nodded. "I need to report it, don't I?"

Puck stayed silent. He'd tried to talk to her about this once before and it had not gone over well, so he figured he could let Santana handle this one.

"I think you should. He needs to be punished for what he did. Don't you think?"

He felt Rachel nod against him and couldn't help the sigh of relief that slipped from his lips. When she looked up at him questioningly, he just shrugged. "I'm just glad that you finally decided to go to the police. You haven't listened to me before this when I tried to tell you, but I didn't want to push you."

Rachel nodded. "Will you take me to the police station, Noah?"

He just nodded before helping her stand. Hell yes he'd bring her to the station. Anything to help get the douche what he deserved for hurting Rachel.

* * *

They spent hours at the police station while Rachel told her story over and over again. Puck wanted to rip into all of the motherfucking pigs who kept asking her question after question that tore her apart. He didn't know how she could keep it together as well as she had. She had cried, tears rolling down her cheeks and they'd had to stop, but she just kept going.

He on the other hand got kicked out of the fucking room because he couldn't keep his temper under control. But really, what the hell did they want? How was he supposed to listen to her explain time and time again how that fucking douche had forced himself on her? Fuck that shit. So he'd gotten angry and thrown a chair. Was that really a reason to kick him out of the room? Well, yeah, he guessed it was. But it drove him fucking crazy as he paced the length of the room that they'd put him in. Made him wait there until she was done.

When she'd appeared in the doorway all he could do was sweep her into his arms and hold her close as she cried, clinging to him. After calming her down a little he'd walked her to his truck and headed to her house. His intention had been to just walk her to the door and head home, but when she'd looked up at him with those big eyes and begged him to stay, what the fuck was he supposed to do? Tell her no? Yeah like that shit was going to happen.

He followed behind her as she led the way to her room while he texted his mom to let him know that he'd (once again) be staying at the Berrys'. The funniest thing about that was that his mom (even knowing that he'd gotten Quinn knocked up just two years ago) didn't care that he stayed alone with Rachel. Actually she loved the idea. He bet she was planning their fucking wedding cause that's the kind of crazy she was. But apparently he had a thing for crazy women, so it was all good.

While she was in the bathroom changing, he pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor before sliding his jeans down his legs. He'd just laid down on the bed when she walked in. He had to close his eyes and open them again to be sure that he wasn't imagining things. Nope, he sure wasn't.

Rachel stood in the doorway wearing a flimsy, silky nightgown that barely covered her ass. She looked at him shyly and he didn't know what the fuck was doing on. He remembered sitting up and suddenly she was there, straddling him. Her lack of clothing must have been causing his brain to shut down because he had totally missed how she had gotten there.

Her hands were all over him, her lips on his. And it was almost too much, too desperate. What the fuck was going on? What was up with her suddenly throwing herself at him? And holy shit, was that her hand on his dick? Fuck him.

He gently pushed her back, stilling her hands. "Rachel, what's going on?"

"I just want to forget." Her lips ran a trail up and down his neck causing him to lose focus. "Make me forget."

"No." He knew that he was as shocked as she was when the word spilled from his mouth.

"What?"

Puck gently pushed her off of his lap. "We're not going to do it this way, Rachel."

Puck would've laughed at Rachel's face had it not been for the seriousness of the situation. Her face was almost comical. "Are you turning me down for sex?"

He once again felt like he was going to laugh. She was right. Since when did he turn down sex? Well since now, he guessed. "I'm not turning you down for sex, babe. I'm turning you down for sex right now." He paused. "When we have sex it will be because we want to have sex. Not because you just want to forget what that douche did to you. Do you understand?"

Rachel started to struggle to pull out of his grip, but he wouldn't let her go. "Let me go, Noah!" Tears spilled down her cheeks as she refused to look at him.

This time he did laugh. "You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?" He cupped her face in his hands. "I love you and I don't want our first time to be tainted by him and what he did to you."

She looked up at him suddenly, her eyes wide. "You love me?"

"Damn, Berry. Haven't you been listening? Of course I fucking love you. Do you really think that I'd keep putting up with your crazy ass if I didn't?"

A fresh batch of tears slid down her cheeks. "I love you, too, Noah. So, so much." She fell into his arms. "When did you turn into such a nice guy?"

"What the fuck ever. I'm still a fucking badass stud."

"Mmmm...okay." And with that Rachel fell asleep in his arms and he knew that it might mean he was turning into a big fat pussy, but he couldn't help thinking that she felt just right in his arms. Like she was meant to be there.


	12. Epilogue

_**A/N:** I'm soooo sorry about not getting this up sooner, but I have been having some major internet issues. This is the end...I hope that you have enjoyed the story and that the ending is up to your standards =) Thanks again for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ending._

* * *

"The words used by the lawyers that day was 'Criminal Sexual Assault,' but the word I use is 'rape.' It's a nasty word for a nasty act."

Rachel stood at the front of the auditorium, looking out at the figures that sat before her. This wasn't the first time that she'd given the speech, but it didn't ever get easier.

"I was only seventeen when I was raped by a boy who I used to date. Like most girls I didn't want to report him because I knew him and because I hated to admit that it had happened to me. But when I saw him at a party with another girl, I lost it. I couldn't trust that he wouldn't do it again, so I finally reported it. Jesse was sentenced to five years because he was an adult and I was a minor. The fact that I was intoxicated by drinks provided by him made the sentence longer and he now has to be listed in the federal website for sexual predators. This will not only follow me around for the rest of my life, but also for the rest of his life as well.

"According to studies in forty-seven percent of rapes, both the victim and attacker have been drinking. Over seventy percent of rapes are committed by someone that the victim knows. Over half of the rapes committed aren't reported. None of us wants to be a statistic, but if you are raped, please don't be part of the group that doesn't report it. If a woman says no, it means no, and not that she doesn't want to seem too eager. There are emotional and mental scars left besides the sometimes physical."

She looked out among the faces, hoping that she could at least reach one of them. "Guys, think about that the next time you think she's just playing hard to get. And ladies, if you've been a victim of a rape, report it and get help."

She gave the smile that she was famous for. "I'm Rachel Berry and I'm a rape survivor and if I can survive it then so can you."

With that, Rachel stepped off the stage only to be pulled into Puck's arms. "Noah, you're going to squish the baby."

Puck immediately stepped back and looked down in alarm. "Really?"

Rachel laughed as she shook her head. He was always so worried about something happening to her or the baby and she found it hilarious to give him a hard time about it.

"That's not even remotely funny, babe." He kissed her forehead as he pulled her to his side. "I know I tell you this every time, but I'm so proud of you for doing this."

"You helped me deal with my rape ten years ago, Noah, and I feel like if there's a chance that I can help some other girl deal with what has happened to her, then I have to. I have to show them that it's not the end of the world. That they can still dream big. They can be a star, a wife, a mother." She smiled as she laid a hand on her swollen stomach.

It had taken her years to move past what had happened to her, but with Puck's help she had. They'd gone away to school in New York and she'd begun her climb to Broadway. Ten years later he was still by her side only now as her husband and they were expecting their first child. Had anyone told her that this is where she'd be in ten years after she'd been raped she would have laughed in their faces. But there she was and there was nothing she would change about it.


End file.
